To Fight is to Live
by Sakucherryblossoms
Summary: They decided she was too sick to keep in their village. Shipping her off to a secluded island, Sakura meets others like her, and they are quick to plot their revenge. "I could heal myself, you idiot. I am a doctor." "You've tried long enough."


This is only a prologue my friends. Sorry I'm not updating the stories I really should be... haha, I just had this idea in my head, and couldn't stop myself from writing it. Hope you all enjoy.

Prologue : To Fight is to Live

They decided she was too sick to keep in their village. Shipping her off to a secluded island, Sakura meets others like her, and they are quick to plot their revenge. "I could heal myself, you idiot. I am a doctor." "You've tried long enough," the shinobi said while shoving her forward. "You will get no more time."

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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There were nurses running everywhere in the hospital, the epidemic had started and it looked like it would not be ending soon. It was a plague, a plague that even the most advance medical ninja could not heal.

It had started when one shinobi had returned from a recon mission from Grass. Rumors hit Konoha that Orochimaru had supposedly disappeared along with the grass army as well; this shinobi's mission was to either find evidence to support these rumors, or oppose them. If the reports were correct, the shinobi had not found anyone in Grass, either civilian or shinobi.

The shinobi went to the hospital, as he was accustomed to do after a mission. The shinobi, a higher ranking jounin, had been feeling minimal symptoms of fatigue, unusual fits of coughing, and achy-ness; Tsunade had stated that this shinobi had been poisoned. When she attempted to use the poison extraction jutsu, however, she was not able to withdraw any poison.

Drawing blood from the jounin, Tsunade began running tests personally. Though, as she could not come up with a conclusion, the shinobi's condition worsened.

The man began to lose weight quickly, purplish markings began to mar his body, and soon enough, the man began bleeding from vital points around his body. Very shortly, the man died, and Tsunade began feeling the same symptoms the now deceased shinobi had when he first came to the hospital.

Slowly, Tsunade's condition worsened to the point where she could no longer speak. She had been kept in a bubbled room for her final days, whatever appeared to be eating Tsunade alive was obviously an air born illness; one that even the greatest medic could not treat. Sakura watched as her mentor withered away until there was nothing left.

That had been two months ago, and now there were more shinobi than ever that appeared with the sickness. The pink haired woman hadn't known how it started, but she needed to find out for her mentor; for her mentor's memory.

The illness, Sakura knew it's effects were like poison. Maybe it had been a poison her mentor had not been able find? Either way, Sakura needed to find the source. The only real information Sakura had been able to find was that all these people had come into contact with others who had gone to Grass, or had been in Grass recently.

If Sakura didn't find the cure soon, Konoha would continue to lose more and more of their best shinobi. More and more people were coming to the hospital, and now, the hospital no longer kept these diseased victims until they died; there was not enough space in the Konoha hospital.

The pink haired woman raced towards the next room, she was wearing a yellow suit that covered her from head to toe. These radioactive suits were meant only in cases of emergency. Sakura glanced to her previous patient and sighed. Calling down the hallway, Sakura slid into the next room. "Room 323 needs to be evicted; the disease has spread to the point we can no longer treat him."

It was disconcerting; she was now the greatest medic ninja in the village and she could do nothing to cure the people in her hospital. She was trying, that much was clear. If the lack of sleep the woman had to endure every night would help her cause, then she would be forced to continue doing it.

Walking into the next room, the woman looked up from her chart. "Are you feeling better at all, Shikamaru?" she asked the brown haired shinobi that lay before her. The man had lazy brown eyes, but his usually tanned face was severely pale. "I know you were only exposed to the disease for a sort amount of time, but I didn't think it would cause you this much pain."

The man chose not to respond yet; his brown eyes did not meet her emerald ones, and focused on a spot on the floor. "It's not so bad," Shikamaru said quietly.

"One of the nurses told me she thought you had contracted the disease," the woman said with slightly nervous eyes. "Your slowly getting worse Shikamaru. I'm afraid to say this, Shika, but I think I have to agree with the nurse. Is there anything I can get you to make you more comfortable?"

"Sakura," Shikamaru said while his eyes moved to meet with her emerald ones. "I'm sure I have it. Ino and Chouji… they're already dead aren't they?"

Sakura looked down not wanting to meet his intense gaze; it hurt her so much to admit this. "I'm not sure," Sakura said with a head shake. "The disease only takes a few hours to manifest itself into the patient's body, but takes at least a week to take full effect. If the disease is becoming too progressive I, or any other nurse is to tell Danzo-sama. The next day the patients disappear from the hospital.

"Though I did not tell Danzo of Ino's condition, I'm afraid one of the other nurse's did," Sakura said with a head shake. "I really don't know what happens to them; I'm sorry."

Shikamaru grunted but lay back on his bed, there was a far away look in his eyes, and Sakura was concerned for more than just his physical health. "Does that mean I am to be disposed of next?" Shikamaru asked as his voice had a eerie tone to it. "There could be more troublesome things, I suppose. I don't believe you're enjoying your job at the moment; the hired executioner of the Hokage."

"Shikamaru… I'm really trying, I promise you I am, but it's not really something I really talk about. Not something I really like to talk about," Sakura said while looking at his chart again. "You're not the worst in the hospital, Shika. I'm sure you'll be here for at least a little while longer, and in that time I will search really hard for the cure to this; I promise. I know I'm close to it, you have to trust me."

Sakura watched Shikamaru's head nod slightly. Smiling, Sakura chose to ignore the knowing look in the brown haired male's eyes; it's like he knew her attempts would be for not. The next day, he was gone.


End file.
